Suction stripping and stacking apparatus



Dec. 18, 1956 J.' GOSS SUCTION STRIPPING AND STACKING APPARATUS Filed March 3l, 1955 2 Sheets-Shes?l l MINI [NIH mi #MZ #LL- EARoLD J GOSS INVENTOR.

BM *73W ATTORNEYS Dec. 18, 1956 H. J. Goss 2,774,287

SUCTION STRIPPING AND STACKING APPARATUS Filed March 3l 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 if 126 :f- 99 'L l 6 i 1029 'L'. 100 39 INVENTOR.

HARLD J G0535' BY United States Patent O SUCTION STRIPPING AND STACKING APPARATUS Harold J. Goss, Nashua, N. H., assignor to The International Paper Box Machine Company, Nashua, N. H., a corporation of New Hampshire Application March 31, 1955, Serial No. 498,261

12 Claims. (Cl. 93-51) This invention relates to machines for making folded boxes of paper or the like and especially to box folding machines of the reciprocating form type.

In such machines the box form moves from a blank receiving position to a box set-up position, near the exit end of a forming channel, and means must be provided to strip the completed box from the form and to discharge the boxes in an orderly manner.

In my prior U. S. Patent No. 1,538,851, issued May 19, i925 and entitled, Assembling Mechanism for Box'Making Machines a machine of the above mentioned type is shown, the blanks being moved vertically upward in a channel and delivered to the exit end as a set-up box with the bottom foremost. An upwardly extending box receiving magazine or channel is provided, spaced from,`

but in axial extension of the forming channel. Mechanism-is provided for stripping each successive box from the form moving it into the entrance end of the magazine and stacking the box therein with each alternate box at an opposite tilt to accomplish partial nesting. With boxes having non tapered sides, such partial nesting reduces the space occupied by the boxes to a considerable degree. A preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated herein as applied to a machine such as disclosed in said prior patent.

The object of the invention is to provide improved means for stripping each box from a box form, feeding it into the entrance of a box magazine or channel and forming a stack of indefinite length therein.

Another object of the invention is to provide vertical stacking apparatus having the additional function of stripping boxes and feeding boxes to the stack.

A further object of the invention is to provide more ethcient apparatus for transferring assembled set-up boxes from a box form into the bottom of a vertical stack without danger of fracturing, tearingor otherwise damaging the boxes.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a suction gripper capable of pulling a box into a stack while pushing the preceding box further into the stack and moving the rest of the stack further along the magazine or channel.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention, from the claims and from the drawings. The mechanism for forming the boxes and for stacking the boxes at alternate opposite angles is not illustrated in detail in the drawings since it is well known and described in said patents. Such mechanism is shown only in sufficient detail to show the improvements of the present invention.

In the drawings Fig. l is a fragmentary front elevation of the lower portion of a plunger type box forming machine having vertical box stacking mechanism with my invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the device shown inFig. 1. l

2,774,287 Patented Dec. 18, 1956 Fig. 5 is a view in section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4 show-- ing the rigid suction connections of each head.

As shown, 20 is a box form type machine for makingj folded paper boxes, the machine 20 having a pair of up `standing side frame pieces 21 and 22, suitable cross support rods such as at 23 and a number of cross shafts tobe hereinafter mentioned. The box forming channel 24 and the box form or plunger 25 may be of any well known type. Box form 25 is arranged to support'the bottom panel of a flat blank while forcing the blank upwardly through the channel thereby causing the side Walls of the blank to fold downwardly into the shape of a setup box. Suitable interlocking corner tabs, glued stays, glued tabs or the like are used to complete the box on the form all in a well known manner and not requiring illustration. The box form 25 is reciprocated axially of the channel 24 by the plunger rod 26, rod 26 being vertically slideable in fixed guides 27 and 28 and actuated by a crank arm 29. The blank receiving position of box form 2S is indicated at 32 and the box set-up position is indicated at 33, the latter being proximate'the exit end 34 of box forming channel 24.

A box receiving channel or magazine 35 is provided preferably coaxial with, and inrprojection of, forming channel 24 but having its entrance end 36 spaced from the exit end 34 thereof. l use the term exit end of the box forming channel to mean the forward limit of the stroke of the box form reciprocating therein because even if the box forming channel extends beyond this forward limit, it accomplishes no further box forming function. I use the term entrance end of the box receiving channel to mean the rearward or bottom limit of a lstack of boxes therein, because it is only after a box has advanced past said limit that Vit'forrns-a part of a stack vand is actually in a magazine. It should be noted therefore, that while the exit end of the box forming channel is spaced from the entrance end of the box receiving channel, to provide axially extending space for stripping a box from the box form, portions of the walls of the two channels could be integral and in extension of each other if desired.

The box receiving channel 35 is formed by spaced apart vertical guides such as 37 and 38 supported on the machine 20 by brackets such as 39 and cross rods such as 4i?. Guides 37 and 38 may extend vertically upward as far as desired, but with tapered set-up boxes, or nontapered partial nested boxes, the stack is self supporting `and may extend well above the top of the guides. As best shown in Fig. 3, oppositely disposed spring pressed pivoted catches such as 43 and 44 mark the entrance end of box receiving channel 35 and are designed to pass an npwardly moving set-up box but prevent its passage downwardly in the channel. Similar catches 45 and 46 are provided further along the channel for a similar purpose and these catches support the entire stack from falling downwardly in a vertical channel such as shown. Suitable jogging mechanism indicated by the numeral 47, and described in my above mentioned patent, may be provided to partially nest non-tapered boxes in the manner illustrated. Y i

As thus far described, the mechanism for folding, jogging and retaining boxes in the stack, is in accordance with my prior patent. The improved apparatus of this invention for stripping each successive box from the box form, moving the box into the entrance end of the magazine and then moving the box and the box stack along the magazine will now be described.

i Sctioh gripper'means 50 is provided, preferably in Y the form of the elongated straight body 51, of rigid material suchas;nxetal, having a suctioncupv 52 mounted Lon one sideror face thereof near an VeridSllV ofthebody.` The opposite end 55' of each body 51 is p ivotably mounted Y by a pivot bolt 56 to an opposite arm 57 or 45d of across` Y as 641Y Preferably the elongated bodySfl includes a rstsuctionopening 65V in face S23-atrend 54y to which cup 52 is connected and Va second-suction opening 66 in face 53, at endf55, connected to the suction means of the invention. Avsunction conduit-67 in the form of an axial bore extends axially within and along body 51 for connecting the suction openings 65 and 66. axis of suction opening 67 and of pivot bolt 56 is parallel to the 4axis of suction opening 65y and yieldable suction cup 52. Afsingle large area suctioncup 5.2'forrning`V part of a single suction gripper` means 50 might perform adequately in the invention but preferably. two oppositely disposed pair of such suction gripper means 50 are provided to secure a firm gripV near each ofthe four corners It should be noted thatthe of each successive box 64 and to permit angular pivoting onvpivot bolts 56 to accommodate various sizes of boxes. The pusher means 70 ofthe invention is preferably integral withV suction gripper means and movable Y therewith. Pusher means 70 comprises the flat, smooth,

Vantifriction face 71 of the elongated body 51 and is ar- Y box pusher face on the opposite side, to permit the head to perform a double function in-its path of movement;

1 Means for moving the suction gripper means 50 and box pusher means 70 includes the crossheads 59 and 75 such as 97 resultsin kmovenjelitin the oppositedirection of the other arm whereby the arms are jointly movable Y toward and away from each other. One gear rack rod such as 100 is pivotally connected at 102 to one end of a lever 103, the lever 1035:- being pivoted at 104 to across rod 105. The otherend of lever 1,03carries a cam follower 106i engaged in the p,zi'tlf1`;U10-7- of a path'carn 108. Cam 108 is mountede'o'i'a shaftf109 journalled at each opposite-enclin abearingsuch as 1-11 in frames 21 and Zifra'nd carries a gear 1'12"me`shed; with a gearv 113. Gear 113 is mounted on aistub shaft 114 carrying af sprocket 115 which Yin turn is `rotatedby a chain 116 powered by Y a sprocket' 117'o'n dveslaft 93'. Thus each" rotation of path cam.108 cau-'ses-tliejgear rackrod's99 and 100, the arms 97 Yand 98, the brackets and cross heads and the suction means 50 to move outwardly away from each other in l the.l same plane f, and: then 'back toward each other in theY same.- plane' The' resulting path of the'- suction means 50 caused-by .the combined actuation of crank armsSTandfpathcam,108 is Vsyn'chronize'dgin timed rela- Y tion vwitlrthe reciprcc'ationl of boxform 25 by the cornmoredrivershafta-andv isfshown in its preferred form in'Fig'J.

Y VThe suction means l20eofrthevinvention includes the cross-iheads59 and 75, andtherigid tubes 76 and` 77.

The cross heads'eacli-icludefasuction conduit 121 con?V t chine;20. Tube;.1t26.isconnectedby a'ex'ib'le tube 127 to each cross head being fixed toa rigid tubfe ',76or 77 stip-V ported by one of a pair of brackets such as 78. v Each- Ybracket'such as 78 includes a split sleeve 79 tighteable onY a tube such as 77 at one end'and includes' a pair of sleeves' such as 80 at its other end; The two sleeves such as 80 of each bracket are slideable-horizontally cross'wise of machine 20 on a pair of tracks such as 815 and the tracks 81V are supported at each opposite end by one of a pair of oppositely disposed rods 82 or 8?.Y Each rodsch as 82fis vertically slideable, parallel to the path of box form rod'26 in roller guides such kas 84. A connecting rod 86 pivotably connects rod 83l to a crank arm 87 rotated on across shaft 88'. Shaft SS-is journalled in frame' pieces such as 89 and carries a sprocket 90 around which a chain 92 isl trained. Chain Y92 is trained around asimilar sprocket 95' andfca'iried byV Vand release the suction a suctionV control `valveY 128`mounted1o`n a stub shaft v129 to a" side frame22z "Valve 128V includes a'rotary plug revolvedby a sprocket' 130,- t'he" sprocketl 130Y beingv con nectedby a chain'. 131i t'o (ai sprocket 1327on-shaft1133- Shaftz 1331 ini tur'neisirotatedEv by dnt/e 'means V134 but-synchronized in' timedi'relationto the' othe'rpartsV ofthe mai ehinefin'a welt/known manner. VValve 128 is connected byra tnbe-1j3`52t aisonree ofi suction notshown such-as a suction tankrand pump of anywellknowntypefflfhe valve 128 isil arranged to apply/[suction in suc-tion means of; the device; maintainsirenY suction dining' the stroke ar the i end of the` stroke; ahi'ii' 2'0"co`nti'nually produces In; operation; the" 32'to bbxV set-up positioi33'. The crank arm V29 whichV actuaire-'miie fern-ringe ineen-annui is driven by the drive shaft' 93; which# 'Shaft is"Y directly or indirectly the drive thereos:atwiseenggdby the suction' faces 60 of the a drive shaft 93 rotated by drive means 94 of" any well Vknown type such as an electric motor. The above deL scribed reciprocating mechanism is duplicated'on each Y side of the machine as shown in Fig. 1 andV itgwillbe apparent that each rotation of the crank arms'sch as 87 causes the suction means 50, the Vcross heads159 and 75, the'tubes' 76 and 77, the brackets such las '7.8 and the tracksV such as` 81 tobe raised on a forward strokel andY lowered on Va rearward stroke.

peridirigarms'suchras 97 -or 98.v V

Arm 97 depends Vfrom-a gear rackv rod 99-and arm 98 f -common gear 101. Thus sidewise movement ofV one `arm The sleeves 80` ofthe Y, brackets are slideable on tracks 81 and each bracket cludes lugs such as 96, guided on one of a pair of deto cause them'V toapdhere rmly to the bottom;panelf63A preparatoryfofstripping'th-box'frm box formZSl TheV aboveide'scjribed `rr'fens" for moving the suction 'meansl 50 then; moves 'the'v suction' grippers; forwardly Vand rectifYY linearlylfrom tlieieirit '62H34 to Ythe entrance end 36 'of' box Vreivrihiig? cniineissjq Aric; im' enters nie channel 35.bottoit-forersaidpasses-beyond the spring catches v 'ntraicetlie'rebf and valve Fig. 3 the cups 52 then move outwardly away fromV eachother' in the tsarn'epla'ne inI opposite/loops `and'return 'to'i'the'ir starting point 1n 'ai path" which extendsv around from form and moved to receiving channel 35. The flat face 71 of pusher means 70, on this and succeeding cycles of operation, engages the outer edges 72 of walls 73 of the previously fed box such as 64 and pushes that box further into channel to be caught by a second set of spring catches such as 45 and 46. Box 64 thus becomes the bottom or endmost box of the stack and pushes the entire stack further along the receiving channel 35. As shown in the drawing, the jogging mechanism 47 described in my prior patent oppositely tilts each alternate box to accomplish partial nesting as shown. The guides 37 and 38 forming channel 35 may overlap the path of the suction means 50 because the latter moves outwardly in a space between the guides.

I claim:

l. In a machine for making boxes said machine having a box forming channel with an exit end, box forming means reciprocable in said forming channel and a box receiving channel with an entrance end, said channels being coaxial and facing each other with said ends spaced apart, suction gripper means facing toward said box forming channel and adapted to secure a grip on a box positioned bottom foremost at the exit end thereof, means for moving said suction gripper means up to said entrance end along a predetermined path located in the space between said ends and moving said suction gripper means back to said exit end along a predetermined path at least partly located beyond the space between said ends, said moving means being cooperable with said box forming means to remove each successive box therefrom and advance the box bottom foremost into the entrance end of the box receivingchannel; suction means operably connected to said gripper means, including mechanism for releasing suction in said suction gripper means to disengage a box therefrom at the entrance end of said box receiving channel and box pusher means on, and movable with, said suction gripper means, said pusher means facing toward said box receiving channel and being adapted to push further into said channel, each successive box released at the entrance end thereof on the previous path circuit of said suction gripper means.

2. A combination as specified in claim l wherein said suction gripper means comprises a pair of oppositely disposed suction heads and said moving means includes means for moving said heads in opposite closed paths in a common plane.

3. A combination as specified in claim l wherein said suction gripper means and said pusher means are carried on a single head extending perpendicularly to the axis of said channels, said head having a suction gripper facing the box forming channel and a smooth, anti-friction box pusher face facing the box receiving channel.

4. A combination as specied in claim l wherein said suction gripper means includes a yieldable suction cup positioned on said moving means to atwise engage the bottom panel of a box in said box forming channel and said box pusher means is positioned on said suction gripper means to atwise engage opposite upper edges of the walls of a box in said box receiving channel.

5. In a machine for making boxes said machine having a box forming channel with an exit end, box forming means, reciprocable in said channel for presenting successive boxes, bottom foremost, at said exit end and box stacking means, aligned with, but spaced from, said box forming channel for receiving and stacking successive boxes bottom foremost, a pair of movable heads, each extending perpendicular to the axes of Said channels on an opposite side thereof, means for moving each said head, cooperably with said box forming means, in opposite closed unidirectional paths in the same plane, the adjacent portions of said paths extending from said exit end to said box forming channel in the space therebetween and the remote portions of said paths being outside said space, a suction cup on each said head facing said box forming channel and adapted to engage the bottom of a box at the exit end thereof; a smooth, antifriction surface on each said head, facing said box stacking means, and adapted to engage the edges of the walls of a box in said stacking means, and suction means, cooperable with said moving means for creating and releasing suction in said suction cup in timed relation to the travel of said heads.

. 6. In a machine for making boxes, said machine having a box forming channel with an exit end, a box form reciprocable in said channel from a blank receiving station to a box set-up station at said exit end and a box stacking channel having an entrance end spaced from, and aligned with, the exit end of said box forming channel, box pusher means movable on a forward stroke in the path of a box between said exit end and said entrance end and movable on a rearward stroke outside said path back to said exit end; a rearward facing suction gripper movable with said pusher means and arranged to extract each successive box from said box form at said exit end, by adhesion to the box bottom, carry said box along said path into the entrance end of said box receiving channel and release said box in the path of said pusher means on its succeeding forward stroke; means for moving said pusher means in synchronization with the movement of said box form and suction means for controlling the suction in said suction gripper in synchronization with the movement of said box form and pushing means.

7. Apparatus for feeding set-up boxes from a box forming device to a box stacking device, said devices being spaced 'apart and said boxes being bottom foremost, said apparatus comprising suction gripper means adapted to secure a grip on the bottom panel of a box, means for moving said suction gripper means in a closed, unidirectional path forwardly to 'said box stacking device in a straight line and rearwardly to said box forming device in an outward loop; suction means for maintaining suction in said gripper means during the forward component of said path to engage a box and for releasing suction in said gripper means, proximate the end of said forward component, to disengage a box and bex pusher means movable with, and leading each said suction gripper means on its said path, said pusher means being adapted rto engage a rearward facing portion of a box previously released in said path by said suction gripper means and to push said box further into said box stacking device.

8. Apparatus for feeding set-up boxes bottom foremost from a box forming device to a coaxial box stacking device spaced therefrom, said apparatus comprising at least two suction grippers, each adapted to secure a grip on an opposite side of the bottom of a box in said box forming device; means for moving each said gripper in a closed unidirectional path having a forward component extending from said box forming device to said box stacking device in the space therebetween and having a portion of the remaining component of said path lying outside the space therebetween, suction means cooperable with said moving means, for releasing suction in said grippers proximate the end of said forward component to disengage a box and box pusher means, facing forwardly `on each gripper during said forward component and movable therewith, said pusher means being adapted to contact each box disengaged on a previous circuit ot' said path and push said box further along said path.

9. Apparatus as specified in claim 8 wherein each suction gripper is pivotably connected to said moving means for turning in the plane of the bottom of a box whereby box bottoms of various dimensions may be gripped thereby.

l0. Apparatus as specified in claim 8 wherein each suction gripper comprises a head Vof rigid material having a exible suction cup facing rearwardly therefrom and a smooth anti-friction surface facing forwardly therefrom, to constitute said pusher means.

tracks reciprocating; parallel to.y said axis and' sleably supporting. saidbraketsf and" means vfor. recipr'ocatingsaid brackets on said tracks in timed relation-to 'tlierciprceaf tionsof: sd-carriage to' move said grippers in opposite closed paths inthe sameplne. Y 7

12. In combination' with` a; boxr'form. folding machine having; a' spaced box receiving magazine,r suction means, Y

including/af movable suctimiheadv adapted tofpush each successiva boxijurtl'er into said magazine While pulling 'the next succeeding hox;trol-n'.said'mziehine'AV into said closed:u'nidixeeticnml;predetermined? patnrectilinearly be:-

tween said,V machine Vand magazinend' in an outward 5 eurvilinea:V loop` betweensaidV magazinexandfnachine.

Y ReferenceslCited in the lenzlfV thispatent UNntED STATES'PATENTSA V853,910 'Iyden; May 1/4, 1907 10 2,321,562 Coy eran June-s, 1943' 2,379,575- VGran'stcidf -`Jur1y 3, 1945 2,623,773

' Melt'zer Deci 30, 

